The Terrible Evil of Sin

Genesis 3:1-6, 「The Horrible Evil of Sin!」 03/25/12 PM, Sharon OPC Dr. Jeffrey K. Boer [Also see WLC #19-24]

We’re going to talk about sin tonight. Not a very popular subject, I’ll grant you. We’re also going to be talking about the Fall of mankind.

今晚我們要討論罪的主題。雖然這個話題不常見，我們卻要談談人類的墮落。

今晚我們要討論的是「罪」，——我保證你認為是一個不怎麼流行的話題。（然而不僅如此），我們還要討論人類墮落的事。

Let me ask you a question: 「Do you hate sin? Do you see the horrible evil of sin?」

先來問你一個問題：「你恨惡罪嗎？你看到罪那可怕的邪惡性了嗎？」

請允許我問你一個問題：「你恨罪麼？你明了罪所具有的可怕的邪惡麼？」

I fear that many today, myself included, have become all too insensitive to the horrible evil of sin. So we tend to dismiss it rather lightly. As a result, many people have the impression that God was rather unfair to damn the whole human race to Hell for 「Just one bite of an apple.」 (I know it probably wasn’t an apple, but may have been a pear or some similar fruit, but we’ll refer to it by the common conception of an apple.)

現在我擔心今天的我們(包括我自己在內)都對罪的邪惡性越來越不敏感。所以我們就對之輕描淡寫，應付了事。所以，很多人認為 神就因為人「在那蘋果上咬了一口」就把全人類定罪要遭受地獄的刑罰是極其不公平的。（我知道有可能不是蘋果，也許是梨子或其他類似水果，我們就姑且用常用的蘋果表示。）

我擔心今天的很多人——包括我個人在內，都對罪所具有的的可怕的邪惡越來越不敏感。所以我們總傾向於輕鬆隨便地把它打發掉，以至於很多人都有這種印象：上帝因為那「僅僅咬一口蘋果」的事兒就將全人類打入地獄是極不公正的。——我知道它可能並非蘋果，而是梨子或者其他什麼水果，但讓我們姑且用蘋果這個一般觀念來表示吧。

Some time ago, a man came to my office on business, and then, just as he was ready to leave, he said, 「Can I ask you a question about religion?」 (I could tell, instantly, that I was about to be hit between the eyes with one of those 「religious trap」 questions.)

前些天，有個男子有事到我辦公室，臨走時他問：「我可以問你一個宗教性問題嗎？」（從他的眼神，我感覺到他要給我設的問題是個「宗教陷阱」。）

幾天前，有個人到我的辦公室交涉公務，然而就在他臨走的時候，他說：「我可以問你一個關於宗教的問題麼？」老實說，看他那樣的眼神，我馬上就感覺到他是要用這些「宗教陷阱」問題來教訓我。

I said, 「You can ask anything you like. I can’t guarantee that I’ll have the answer.」

我說：「你可以隨便問。不過我不保證我都能回答。」

我說：「你問什麼都可以。但我不能保證我有你要的答案。」

He said, 「Let me give you a hypothetical situation: Suppose a father says to his son, 『Don’t ever open the door to that one closet in the house. You can play anywhere else in the entire house, but I don’t want you to go into that closet. I mean it. Stay out of there or that will be the end of our relationship!』 Then, a little while later, the father catches his son, in the closet, in direct violation of his father’s orders. So... the father picks up his son, throws him out the door of the house and says, 『That’s it! I never want to see you again!』 And he slams the door shut.」

他說，「我們虛設一個場景：一個父親對他兒子說 ，「不要開房子裡那間密室的門。你可在房間其他地方到處玩，但我鄭重告訴你不要進那間密室。不要去碰那間密室的門，否則我們的父子關係就到此為止！」可還不到一分鐘，父親就抓到兒子進了密室，公然直接反抗他父親的命令。所以父親把兒子拎起來直接就把他扔出家門，『出去！我再也不想見到你！』砰的一聲把門也鎖上了。」

「Now,」 said the man, looking me right in the eye, 「What would you think of a father who would do that?」 「現在」 那人注目看著我說，「你看一個做出這事的父親會是怎樣的父親呢？」 「Not much,」 I said, waiting for the other shoe to drop. 「沒什麼好說的，」我說，等著他發下一個球過來。 「Well that’s why I can’t worship the kind of God the Bible reveals,」 he said. 「What kind of God would condemn the entire human race to Hell eternally for one person just taking one bite of an apple?」 他說「我不可能來敬拜聖經所啟示的這樣的神，」他又接著說。「什麼樣的神啊，因為小咬了那蘋果一口，就要把全人類都永遠地定罪遭遇地獄的刑罰？」

Well, how would you respond? It does sorta make you think, doesn’t it? That’s the question we’re going to be dealing with this evening. 換作是你，你會怎麼回答？現在讓你有幾分思考了，對吧？我們今晚就來思考下這個問題。 For those of you taking notes, there will be three main headings: 1) The Covenant of Life. 2) Adam’s sin. And 3) Our sin. 做筆記的時候，可以關注下這三大點：1）生命之約。2）亞當的原罪。和3）我們的本罪。 First, The Covenant of Life. 首先：生命之約 The Covenant of Life provides the context for Adam’s sin. It’s set forth in Genesis 2:15-17, 「The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, 『You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.』」 生命之約其實也是亞當犯罪的前約。設立在創世紀2：15-17，「耶和華 神將那人安置在伊甸園，使他修理看守。耶和華 神吩咐他說：「園中各樣樹上的果子你可以隨意吃。只是分別善惡樹上的果子你不可以吃，你吃的日子必定死。 」 In some places in our creeds, this covenant is referred to as the Covenant of Life. In other places it’s called the Covenant of Works. Both terms refer to the same covenant, that covenant made by God with Adam, as the head of the whole human race. 在我們的信條中，這個約也被稱之為「生命之約」。有些地方稱它為「工作之約」。這都是指同一個約，這個約是神與作為全人類代表的亞當所立的。 After this covenant was broken, God made a new and better covenant, which we call the Covenant of Grace. Because this second covenant is called the covenant of grace, the first covenant is sometimes thought of as not being gracious, but that’s not altogether true. 這個約被破壞之後，神另立新約，也是更美好的恩典之約。 因這第二個約是恩典之約，所以第一個約有時候就被認為沒有恩典，其實這樣講法是極其錯誤的。 There was grace in the covenant of works, too, in a sense. That’s why I like the term, covenant of life, better. 工作之約從某種意義上講也是有恩典的。所以我更喜歡稱之為「生命之約」。 When we think of works, we think that means works instead of grace, but that’s not necessarily true. The covenant of works was a gracious covenant in the sense that Adam and Eve didn’t earn or deserve to have this covenant relationship with God. God didn’t owe them this covenant. 當我們想到工作的時候，我們想到的是勞苦工作沒有想到恩典，但那不一定對。工作之約之所以是有恩典的，是因為亞當和夏娃不能賺得或說不配跟神建立這種約的關係。神從來就不欠他們一個「約」。 When you think about it, it was very gracious and undeserved for God, the infinite, sovereign master of the universe, to stoop down and to enter into a covenant with a creature made from the dust! Adam had no claims on the God Who had created him. He hadn’t given God anything! And yet, God, in His infinite mercy and wisdom, decided to enter into a covenant relationship with Adam. And keep in mind that this covenant relationship included not only Adam, but since Adam represented all of humankind, this covenant of life included all of us as well. 你可以想像下，其實這都是莫大的恩典且是我們不配得的，無限大能宇宙至高之君卻屈就並與出於塵土的被造之物立約！亞當無權要求創造了他的神。他沒有給予過神任何報償！然而，神卻因他豐盛的憐憫和智慧決定與亞當有約的關係。但是不要忘記這個約不僅是跟亞當，也是與亞當所代表的全人類所定，包括我們每一個人。 God gave Adam a choice: Eternal life or eternal death. God required of Adam obedience. There are three words our creeds use to describe this obedience: 1) Perfect (that is, not half way or half hearted obedience, 2) Personal (that is, Adam, himself, was to obey, not someone else on his behalf, as in the covenant of grace where Christ obeys for us), and 3) Perpetual (that is, all the time, every second of every day). God required perfect, personal, and perpetual obedience of Adam. 神給亞當一道選題：永遠的生或永遠的死。神要求亞當完全順服。我們的神學詞典中有三個詞把這要求概括得恰如其分：1）完全（不是半信半疑，或打道回府半路的順服。）2）個人的（亞當，自己要順服，不是張三李四替他如同主基督在恩典之約中為我們完全順服那樣去做。）3）順服到底（就是每時每刻，每一天每一秒的順服）。神要求亞當自己個人完全堅持到底地順服他的旨意。 God set forth a clear warning for Adam also. To break this covenant would mean the loss of everything. It would mean forfeiting all the blessings God had given him. It would mean death, the complete loss of hope. But at the same time, God’s covenant was very gracious in its terms: 「You may eat of any tree in the garden. You may live in perfect paradise which I have created for you. You will have no pain or sorrow, no problems. Everything will be perfect. Everything in the garden is yours to use. You will be king of all, and you will have communion with God. Just obey me in this one little thing. Don’t eat from that one tree.」 神也給亞當非常清楚的警告。如果背約，將失去所有的一切。不僅要失去神賜給他所有的福，也要承受死亡的痛苦，毫無指望的人生 。但同時也看到神的聖約是多麼有恩典：「園中各樣樹上的果子你可以吃，你可以住在我為你而創造的完美天堂。你將沒有痛苦，沒有悲哀，沒有哭嚎，沒有難題。一切都將是完美的。園中的一切都是你的，你可以隨意享用。你可以統治一切受造物，且與神相交。只要遵守我這一小小的要求。不要吃那棵樹上的果子。」 In light of all this background, Adam’s sin isn’t all that trivial is it? 在這處境的對照下，亞當的罪是不是顯得太瑣碎而不那麼重要呢？ Also keep in mind that Adam was not a little child, as in the man’s illustration earlier. He was a fully grown adult man who』d been created already mature with the full ability to think and to reason and to weigh consequences and all that. He wasn’t an immature little child. 請注意，亞當並非那個男子故事當中的孩子。他是有完全行為意識、準則、判斷能力的成年人。他知道衡量自己的行為將導致的後果，他不是個乳臭未乾的孩子。 So that was the Covenant of Life. Not a bad deal, was it? 所以這就是生命之約。這個協議不錯吧，對不對？ Next, let’s examine how much evil there was in Adam’s sin: 下面，我們要檢查下亞當的罪里含有多少的邪惡成分？ Our second point: Adam’s sin (was it 「just one bite of an apple?」) 第二點：亞當的罪（是否「只是對那蘋果的一咬而已」） We’ll see that it was much worse than that. 我們可以看到他所做的比這更惡劣。 First of all, Adam called God a liar and believed the Devil! 首先，亞當稱神為說謊的而去相信撒旦！ In v. 4, we read, 「『You will not surely die,』 the serpent said to the woman. 『For God knows that when [literally, 「in the day」] you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.』」 3：4我們讀到，「蛇對女人說：『你們不一定死，因為神知道你們吃的日子眼睛就明亮了，你們便如神能知道善惡。』」 So for Adam to eat of that tree, he had to believe that God lied to him, knowingly, and for selfish reasons, so that God wouldn’t have any competition from Adam. 所以亞當要吃那樹上的果子，他就必須相信神是跟他說謊的，在他看來，顯然是因著神自己自私的緣故，神就故意不讓亞當吃那果子，免得他會與自己相抗衡了。 Not only that, Adam had to be certain that Satan was telling the truth and that God was lying. Think of the risk involved here if Satan were lying and God were telling the truth. Adam would lose all this wonderful paradise and happiness and would suffer death instead. What more could he possibly want or need? But he wanted the chance to be like God. 不但如此，亞當還要相信撒旦是說真話的，而神是說謊的。想一下如果是神說真話，而撒旦說謊話呢，亞當就面臨失去樂園的一切美好之物而承受死亡的咒詛的風險。此時，他還怕沒有什麼呢，還缺少什麼呢？但是他卻想要能夠像神一樣。 Adam was virtually saying, by his actions, that there was practically no chance that God was telling the truth. Otherwise, why would he risk throwing everything away that he’d been given? God had specifically said, 「In the day you eat of it you shall surely die!」 亞當用行動證明，在他眼裡，實際上神毫無疑問沒有說真話。否則，他怎麼可能把所得來的一切都拋諸腦後。並且神還明確的跟他說了，「你吃的日子必定死！」 So Adam risked everything on the assumption that God was a liar. 所以，亞當用一切身家性命當賭注，認定他假設的神是說謊的謬論。 Second, Adam was filled with selfish pride. He wanted so much to become like God that he was willing to gamble everything for it. Here’s the way the Puritan theologian, Thomas Watson, put it: 「This worm, that was but newly crept out of the dust, now aspired after Deity.」 其次，亞當心裡充滿了自私的驕傲。他是那麼想像神一樣，以致不惜一切代價要換得這虛榮。清教徒神學家托馬斯．華特森這樣寫：「這蛆蟲， 本出於塵土，卻突然匍匐在地，立志要『立地成神』了。」 Third, Adam was ungrateful and unthankful. Think about it. Even if God were a liar, Adam still should have obeyed His command anyway, simply out of gratitude for all that God had given him! God wasn’t coming 「out of the blue」 here to Adam and saying, 「Obey me, or else.」 God had already showered Adam with gifts and blessings beyond most men’s wildest dreams. Adam ignored all of this, saying to himself, 「I’ll take this liar’s power upon myself by eating the forbidden fruit.」 第三，亞當毫無感恩和回報之心。我們想想，即便神就說謊了，亞當也應當遵守神的誡命，權當他對神所賜給他一切的感謝回報！(此處的假設是不妥的，神從不說謊；神或許借著人或事物來試驗人，然而，神的法則總是不變的。【申13:1~3】不可用人的情感來論衡神【可9:33】 神並沒有貿然的來到亞當面前告訴他，「你要聽我的，若不然如何如何。」神已經給了亞當太多太多的恩賜和祝福，多得我們根本無法想像。亞當不理會這一切，跟自己說，「我要化這騙子的能力為我所用，非得要吃這禁果不可。」 Fourth, Adam worshipped the creature rather than the Creator who had the authority to command Adam’s obedience. The serpent had no authority over Adam. In fact, the serpent had been placed under man’s authority by God. God had placed Adam in authority over all the other creatures. But Adam chose to listen to the words of a snake rather than the words of God. 第四，亞當敬拜受造之物，卻不敬拜有權柄命令亞當順服的造物主。蛇對亞當沒有任何權柄。事實上，神把管理那蛇的權柄交給了人。神要亞當來管理其他一切被造之物。 但亞當卻選擇聽從蛇的誘惑而不聽從真神言語。 Fifth, Adam coveted and lusted. Adam was apparently discontent with all the good gifts that God had given him. He wanted more, more, more. His mouth watered as he looked upon that forbidden fruit. He lusted after it in his heart, even though God had given him all things to enjoy. 第五，亞當貪婪並被私慾牽引。亞當顯然不滿足於神已給予他的所有美好恩賜。他貪得無厭，巴不得擁有更多。他舉目看到禁果就口水止不住流，即便神給了他那麼多的美物供他享用，這已生根種在他心裡的貪慾卻無法平息。【註：未犯罪之前人的欲望是被真理引導的，此時亞當在撒旦的誘騙之下，他的欲望開始被世界、被肉體、被自我所引導】 Sixth, Adam was a mass murderer. Not only would Adam’s sin bring death upon himself and upon his wife. But as the head of the entire human race, Adam’s sin plunged the entire human race under the condemnation of God’s wrath in Hell. When Adam died, spiritually, all mankind died with him. Romans 5:12 says, 「Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned...」 第六，亞當是全體大眾的罪魁禍首。他犯罪不僅讓他跟妻子一起遭受死亡的痛苦。作為全人類的頭，亞當犯罪也把全人類帶到神的震怒和咒詛之下，遭受地獄的刑罰。亞當的靈死時，全人類也一同死在了罪惡過犯之中。羅馬書5：12「這就如罪是從一人入了世界，死又是從罪來的；於是死就臨到眾人，因為眾人都犯了罪。」 Here’s how the WSC puts it:威斯敏斯特小要理問答說：

Q. 16. Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first transgression? 16 問：全人類都在亞當初次犯罪中墮落了嗎？ A. The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself, but for his posterity; all mankind, descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him, in his first transgression. 答：神和亞當所立的聖約，不單是為他自己也是為了他的後裔；全人類都是按常例傳宗接代，由亞當而來，在亞當里犯了罪，在他初次犯罪中與他一同墮落了。 Adam’s mouth watered, and as a result, all mankind’s eyes water in travail and tears in this life. 因亞當流的口水，全人類的眼睛都要在今生的勞作和痛苦中流淚水。 Seventh, Adam’s sin was an act of selfish cowardice. Notice that v.6 says, 「When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 第七：亞當犯罪是他自私而懦弱的行為。注意到3：6：「於是女人見那棵樹的果子好作食物、也悅人的眼目、且是可喜愛的、能使人有智慧、就摘下果子來吃了．又給他丈夫、他丈夫也吃了。」 Notice that Eve ate first, but Adam was with her the whole time and did nothing to stop her. He obviously figured he’d let her be the 「guinea pig,」 and if nothing happened to her, then he’d try a bite. Adam was given authority over Eve, so he was responsible to protect her and to guard her best interests. Instead, he basically 「hanged her out to dry,」 while he stood by and watched! 我們也看到是夏娃先吃，但亞當是在場的卻沒有阻攔她不要吃。他明顯就是讓妻子做「小白鼠」，如果妻子沒事，他也要嘗一口。亞當對夏娃是有權柄的，所以他本應保護她捍衛她的最高利益。但不幸的是當他站著袖手旁觀的時候，他基本上就把她「吊在外面晾乾」。 Romans 5:12 is clear about who’s responsible for the Fall:羅馬書5：12非常清楚地闡明了墮落是誰的責任。 「Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned...」 「這就如罪是從一人入了世界，死又是從罪來的；於是死就臨到眾人，因為眾人都犯了罪。」 Seen in light of all these considerations, there’s quite a big difference between the story of the little boy whose curiosity got the best of him so that he opened the door of the closet, and the story of full grown Adam, isn’t there? Adam had been highly blessed by God, and then, for no good reason, turned on this generous and gracious God and called Him a liar.基於此，我們看見那個好奇心強到一定要打開密室門的小男孩和一個健全的成年人亞當之間極大的不同。亞當蒙受神極大的恩福，卻反過來忤逆神稱神為說謊者。 But let’s talk about our own sin for a moment. Perhaps you can see some of the gravity and evil of Adam’s sin, in light of all these circumstances. But how about our own sin? Let’s try to see our own sin as God sees it instead of as Satan wants us to see it! 照此景況，我們也來看下我們的本罪，也許你就可以看到亞當的原罪對我們本罪有牽動和助長的作用。然而，我們自己的罪況如何呢？讓我們試著用神而不用撒旦看我們的眼光來看下我們的罪況。 Our third point deals with Our Sin. 我們第三點要講我們的本罪 It’s easy for us to sit back and judge Adam for his terrible sin. But when it comes right down to it, we’re all guilty of Adam’s sin, and more! We saw that Romans 5:12 holds all mankind accountable for this grievous sin of Adam. But our guilt is even greater than that. We continue to sin, day after day, above and beyond that original sin of Adam which has been imputed to us. 我們坐下來審判亞當犯的可怕的罪很容易。但談到這個審判，亞當犯罪也使我們墮入罪中，甚至是更悲慘的罪中！在羅馬書5：12看到全人類都因亞當這可怕的罪而受刑罰。但我們的罪比亞當之罪更可怕。我們還一天一天繼續在犯罪，並且這些罪已大大超過從亞當延續給我們這些後代子孫的原罪。 And what is sin? Perhaps it would be good to try to get a handle on exactly what constitutes sin? The WSC gives us an excellent definition of sin: 罪是什麼？有可能找到罪所包含的具體內容可以幫我們認識清楚麼？威斯敏斯特小要理問答給我們很清晰的定義：

Q. 14. What is sin? 問：14。罪是什麼？ A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of the law of God. 答：凡不遵守或違背神的律法的，都是罪。

This question reminds us that there are two sides to sin. Sometimes we think of sin only as transgression of the law of God. We see sin as only doing what we’re not supposed to do. And that’s true. Sin is that. When God says, 「Don’t step over this boundary,」 and we do it anyway, that’s a transgression or a trespassing where we don’t belong. That’s why, in the Lord’s Prayer, the KJV translates it, 「Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us...」 這個問題提醒我們罪的兩個方面。有時我們把罪想像成僅僅是違背神的律法。我們只是將罪看作做我們不該做的。 當然那是真的！罪確實是涵括這個意思。當神說，「不可越界，」我們就不越界，否則就是犯了違背或侵犯神所定規的律法的罪。因此，在主禱文，ＫＪＶ版本翻譯成「赦免我們的過犯如同我們赦免了人的過犯…」 But just because we don’t happen to be trespassing at any given moment, that doesn’t mean that we’re not sinning. Being sinless is not just, 「I don’t smoke, and I don’t chew, and I don’t go with girls who do.」 Sin is also 「any want of conformity unto...the law of God.」 The law does more than command us what not to do. It also commands us what we’re supposed to do. The law demands more than a list of 「don’ts.」 It also demands a great many 「do’s.」 The law demands that you 「Love God with all your heart,」 and that you 「Love your neighbor as yourself.」 The law demands that you put God first in all your thoughts, words, and deeds and that you give Him the life of service that you owe Him. 但是即便我們沒有過犯，並不表明我們沒有犯罪。沒有罪並不僅僅是「我不抽菸，不嚼舌根不跟有的人那樣濫交女友」，罪還包含「不遵守神的律法。」律法不僅告訴我們所不應做的，也告訴我們所應當做的。律法不僅給了我們「不應做」的清單，也給我們一大串「應做」的清單。誡命要求你「要盡心愛主你的神。」也要「愛鄰舍如同自己。」誡命要求你把神放在你思想、言語和行為的首位，並且把你欠他的生命當作活祭來獻給他。 Who can say, 「I’ve never failed to love God with everything that’s in me, with my whole heart and soul and mind, and I’ve never failed to love my neighbor as myself?」 Who can say, 「Not only have I never had any evil thoughts words or deeds against God or my neighbor, but I’ve always had proper love in my thoughts, words, and deeds toward God and my neighbor?」 誰敢說，「我在用我的一切所有在愛神，並且盡了我的全心，盡了我的全靈，盡了我的全意呢？並且愛了我鄰舍如同自己了呢？」誰敢說，「我不僅從未對神和鄰舍有過邪惡的想法，邪惡的言語，邪惡的行為，並且我還時刻用合宜的想法，合宜的言語，合宜的行為在愛著神和愛著我的鄰舍呢？」 Hopefully it’s clear to everyone here today that 「We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.」 When we see how the Bible defines sin, we immediately see that we all sin, greatly! 希望今天在座每一位都清楚一點「我們都犯了罪，虧缺了神的榮耀。」當我們看到聖經怎樣定義罪的時候，我們看到我們都犯了滔天大罪！ But we must learn not merely to avoid sin. We must also learn to hate sin. And we’ll never learn to hate sin until we’re convinced that the law of God is good and perfect. Romans 7:12 says, 「the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.」 但是我們不僅要學會避免犯罪。我們還必須學會恨惡罪。並且除非有一天我們真正信服神律法的全備且良善，我們就學不會恨惡罪。羅馬書7：12說，「這樣看來，律法是聖潔的，誡命也是聖潔、公義、良善的。」 Not everybody believes that. Many people think God’s law is just God’s wishes. They don’t view God’s law as perfectly just and fair and righteous. If they did, they』d have no problem with those who want to make God’s law the law of the land. 並不是每一個人都相信這一點。許多人認為神的律法只是神的期許罷了。他們不看神的律法為全備、公義、聖潔的。如果他們這樣看就不會不把神的律法作為全地的律法而遵行了。 Many people say to Christians, 「You can believe what you want, but don’t try to legislate your morality on me. Don’t try to make the laws of the land Christian. That would mean the state would have to cater to one particular religion, and we’re supposed to believe in separation of Church and State.」 很多人對基督徒說，「你信你的，但別把你的道德觀強加給我。基督徒，別把你的律法弄得遍地通行，那就意味國家要為了迎合某一宗教的需要而這麼做，因此我們就該相信政教分權而立。」 Even some Christians feel that way. They have this idea that God’s moral laws are a special set of religious requirements for Christians, but that they weren’t intended to be obeyed or enforced by the civil authorities on the general population. 甚至有些基督徒也這麼認為。他們的觀念是神的道德律，是對基督徒特別的信仰的要求，但並不是司法機構去執行並要求所有人當遵守的法則。 But if, as Romans 7:12 says, 「the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good,」 then the law of God is the most just and most fair law for every man, woman, and child in every nation of the earth. Why shouldn’t it be obeyed and enforced by the civil authorities of every nation? People don’t seem to understand that the law of God is not some kind of preferential treatment, prejudicial towards Christians. The law of God is the only law that’s completely fair and unprejudicial, giving equal justice for all. The law of God is the only law that’s the very best for everyone concerned, and caters to no special interest groups whatsoever. In fact, any laws that oppose God’s law are unjust, evil, and unfair. In fact, they’re sinful laws! 但是正如羅馬書7：12所說：「律法是聖潔的，誡命也是聖潔、公義、良善的。」那麼神的律法對世上的萬民萬邦中每一個男人、女人、小孩都最公義，為什麼不要被國家司法機構 頒布實施並且讓每一個人都遵守呢？人們好像還不明白神的誡命並非是對信徒的特殊優待。神的誡命是公平毫無偏見的給每一個世人的。神的誡命也是對每一個人而言最好的且唯一的誡命，不是為了迎合哪個團體組織的需要。事實上，所有違背神誡命的律法都是不公的，都是邪惡的。實際上，這些都是罪惡的律法。 Christians, we need to learn to love the law of God the way Kind David learned to love it. We need to learn to hate sin as much as God hates sin. Why is it so easy for us to learn to hate people but so hard to learn to hate sin? 基督徒們，我們須學習像大衛一樣愛慕神的律法。我們須學習像神一樣恨惡罪。可我們為什麼偏偏不需要學習就很容易恨惡別人，卻那麼難學會恨惡罪呢？ We seem quite ready to learn to hate someone who hurts us, or who hurts those we love, but we don’t realize that sin does all that and more! Sin hurts us and the ones we love! 通常我們很快就可以恨惡一個曾傷害過我們或我們親人的人，但是我們沒有意識到是罪使我們那樣，甚至使我們更悲慘！ 罪傷害我們，也傷害我們所愛的人。 Notice how the Bible describes sin. Let’s try, for a moment, to see sin the way God sees it. 注意聖經怎樣定義罪的。讓我們試一試用一點點時間來用神的眼光看看罪。 I John 3:8 says sin is 「of the devil.」 If we can hate Satan, we should hate sin. 約翰一書3：8說罪是「屬魔鬼的。」如果我們恨惡撒旦， 我們就應該恨惡罪。 II Corinthians 7:1 says that sin, 「contaminates body and spirit.」 If we hate diseases that contaminate our bodies – if we hate cancer and AIDS and hepatitis, how much more should we hate sin which contaminates both body and spirit? Yet we allow our minds and spirits to be contaminated daily by the things we watch on TV or read or think about. 哥林多後書7：1說罪是「身體靈魂一切的污穢。」如果我們恨惡敗壞我們身體的疾病──像癌症、愛滋病和肝炎，那我們更應該何等恨惡敗壞身體和靈魂的罪呢？那我們怎麼還會任憑自己去看一些敗壞的電視節目，去讀一些世俗的讀物並還晝夜思想這些污穢呢？ Ephesians 5:12 says that sin is 「shameful even to mention.」 以弗所書5：12說罪是「暗中所行的，就是提起來也是可恥的。」 Ephesians 4:30 says sin 「grieves the Holy Spirit of God.」 以弗所書4：30說罪是「叫神的聖靈擔憂。」 Do we ever think of that when we choose to do something we know is sinful? 當我們明知是罪卻去犯罪得罪神的時候，我們是否想到這些呢？ In Matthew 23, Jesus calls sinners 「blind.」 He compares them to 「snakes and vipers」 and to 「unclean dead men’s bones.」 馬太福音23章，耶穌說罪人是「瞎眼的。」他把他們比作「毒蛇的種類」，「裡面裝滿了死人的骨頭和一切的污穢。」 Psalm 5 gives us God’s attitude toward sinners, outside of Jesus Christ, 「You [God] hate all who do wrong...bloodthirsty and deceitful men the LORD abhors...their heart is filled with destruction, their throat is an open grave, with their tongue they speak deceit.」 詩篇5 給我們看到神對沒有在耶穌基督里蒙拯救的惡人的態度，「凡作孽的，都是你所恨惡的…好流人血弄詭詐的都為耶和華所憎惡….他們心裡滿有邪惡，他們的喉嚨是敞開的墳墓，他們用舌頭諂媚人。」 Isaiah compares sin to filthy menstruous cloth, and Paul compares it to dung. Sin is dirty, ugly, and poisonous.以賽亞把罪比作污穢不堪的衣裳，保羅把罪當作糞土。罪很骯髒，很醜陋，很惡毒。 Not only that, sinners gain nothing by sinning. It only serves to bring God’s judgments and chastisements upon themselves. 罪人不僅在犯罪時得不到任何好處，反而在為自己積攢神公義的審判和憤怒的刑罰。 Proverbs 13:15 says, 「The way of a sinner is hard!」 箴言13：15說，「奸詐人的道路崎嶇難行。」 People of God, if you’re not yet convinced of how awful and grievous sin is, consider, for a moment, how much our Savior had to suffer for it. God the Creator of all the universe, humbled Himself, in the person of the Only Begotten Son of the heavenly Father, and He became flesh and lived among us. He was despised and rejected of men. This innocent and sinless Son of God suffered abuse, and beatings, and crucifixion at the hands of sinful men. And as He hung upon the cross, He suffered the ultimate penalty of sin. He suffered the wrath and rejection of His heavenly Father. He suffered the pains of Hell for all those for whom He died. Who can remember the suffering and sacrifice of our Savior and still not hate the sin that caused Him this great suffering? 神的兒女門，如果你們還不認為罪有多麼可怕，多麼嚴重，接下來思索下，我們的救主為我們的罪所承受的是多麼深重的刑罰？神的愛子，創造宇宙萬有的主宰，謙卑己身，作為天父的獨生愛子卻道成肉身住在我們中間。他被人厭棄拒絕。這位無瑕疵無斑點的神的羔羊卻忍受凌辱，遭遇責打甚至忍受被污穢罪人釘死在十字架上的痛苦。他承受極重的罪的刑罰，他承受神的咒詛與父神隔絕。他代替他所救贖之人所應當承受的擔當地獄的痛苦。誰能銘記我們救主所受這深重的苦刑和極大的犧牲卻仍不恨惡使他遭遇這一切的罪呢？ Well, you might be wondering how I responded to that man in my office when he implied that God was totally unreasonable to treat Adam that way? 問我最後要怎麼回答在我辦公室的那位責問神沒理由那樣對待亞當的男子？ I said, 「You’re right. I agree with you. God is unreasonable in the way He treated Adam.」 我說，「你說得對。我同意你所說的。神真沒理由那樣對待亞當。」 That got his attention!

          他这下来劲了！

Then I said, 「God definitely was unreasonable in the way He treated Adam. It certainly would not have been unreasonable for God to condemn all mankind to Hell for their ungrateful and hateful sin. That’s merely justice. What’s unreasonable is that God would be so gracious and so merciful, that even after Adam’s terrible sin, He promised to raise up for Adam a Savior. What’s unreasonable is that God the Father would willingly give up His Only Begotten Son to take the place of wicked sinners like us on the cross and to suffer Hell for us! What’s unreasonable is for Jesus Christ, the sinless Lamb of God, to voluntarily take the wrath of God for sinners upon Himself. Now that’s unreasonable! 然後我說，「神 確定無疑沒有理由那樣對待亞當。神使全人類因為他們的忘恩負義和可恨的罪，使他們遭受地獄的刑罰不是不合理的，反倒完全公義！而不合理的是神出於他的慈愛和憐憫，即便在亞當犯可怕的罪之後，他還應許給亞當一個救贖主。不合理的是天父上帝既然願意為我們這些邪惡罪人舍了他的獨生愛子，替我們的罪死在十字架上忍受地獄的咒詛！不合理的是，耶穌基督，神無罪的羔羊，自己卻甘願為我們這些該死該滅亡的罪人忍受神的咒詛和刑罰。這才真是不可思議！」 「God didn’t kick Adam out of the house after eating just one bite of an apple. Rather, after a willful and grievous sin, wherein the adult child, Adam, literally disowned his own Father and called him a liar, God sent Adam outside to teach him obedience. And then, that same Father went after that spoiled brat, Adam, and at great cost and pain to Himself, sought out his rebellious son, won Him over in love, and brought him back to live with Him for all eternity. I’m afraid you missed a few of these details in your story of the child and the closet.」 「神沒有因為亞當咬了蘋果一口就把他掃地出門，反而，在他蓄意犯了可怕的罪之後，這當中我們看見一個成年孩子亞當忤逆神甚至稱神為說謊的；然後，神把亞當逐出伊甸是讓他學會順服。同時卻還是這位慈愛父親自己付出極重的代價和背負極大的痛苦去尋找這嬌慣了的小子亞當，扭轉這兒子的悖逆並用愛挽回使他得以與自己一同住在永恆里。恐怕你講述的那個小孩和密室的故事裡漏掉了這許多細節。」 And then I read to him Ephesians 2:1-10, 「As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.」 然後我讀給他聽，以弗所書2：1-10你們死在罪惡過犯當中，他叫你們活過來。那時，你們在其中行事為人，隨從今世的風俗，順服空中掌權者的首領，就是現今在悖逆之子心中運行的邪靈。我們從前也都在他們中間，放縱肉體的私慾，隨著肉體和心中所喜好的去行，本為可怒之子，和別人一樣。然而 神既有豐富的憐憫，因他愛我們的大愛，當我們死在罪惡過犯中的時候，便叫我們與基督一同活過來（你們得救是本乎恩）。他又叫我們與基督耶穌一同復活。一同坐在天上。要將他極豐富的恩典，就是他在基督耶穌里向我們所施的恩慈，顯明給後來的世代看。你們得救是本乎恩，也因著信；這並不是出於自己乃是神所賜的；這也不是出於行為，免得有人自誇。我們原是他的工作，在基督耶穌里造成的。為要叫我們行善，就是神所預備叫我們行的。

I don’t know whether this man has ever repented of his sin and turned to Jesus Christ for pardon or not. But at least he has a little different picture of what really happened in the Fall. And at least he also has a little different picture of what kind of a God we worship! 我不知道這個男子最終有沒有悔改來信耶穌。但至少他已經有對那一幅 「 墮落」畫面新的認識，也對我們所敬拜的神有了新的認識！ Amen!阿門！